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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/22586656">“I need you to kiss me.”</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/kuro/pseuds/kuro'>kuro</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Marvel</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Bodyguard, Fluff, Harassment, M/M, Party, Pining</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-02-06</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-02-06</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 11:20:30</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,158</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/22586656</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/kuro/pseuds/kuro</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>“I need you to kiss me.”</p>
<p>Tony suddenly appeared at Steve’s side and wrapped his hands around his forearms, a gesture far too intimate for how they usually interacted.</p>
<p>“Tony, I am–”</p>
<p>Tony rolled his eyes. “My bodyguard, I know. But unless you want to try your luck against six massive gorillas, I suggest you kiss me right now.”<br/>---<br/>Based on a Bodyguard AU prompt by In_umbra_gratia.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Steve Rogers/Tony Stark</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>232</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>“I need you to kiss me.”</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">
      <li>For <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/In_umbra_gratia/gifts">In_umbra_gratia</a>.</li>



    </ul></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    
<p></p><div class="answer post_info">
  <p>“I need you to kiss me.”</p>
  <p>Tony suddenly appeared at Steve’s side and wrapped his hands around his forearms, a gesture far too intimate for how they usually interacted.</p>
  <p>“Tony, I am–”</p>
  <p>Tony rolled his eyes. “My bodyguard, I know. But unless you want to try your luck against six <em>massive</em> gorillas, I suggest you kiss me <em>right now</em>.” </p>
  <p>“What have you done?” Steve asked, somewhat exasperated. “We’ve been at this party for exactly–”</p>
  <p>“Steve, I know.” Tony leaned in until they were intimately close, too close for Steve’s comfort. Tony was always handsome, whether he came fresh out of his workshop or had just woken up, but dressed up to the nines for a party, he had a certain sex appeal that even Steve himself wasn’t immune to.</p>
  <p>“I was just talking to a very nice young lady, she seemed to be quite interested in my new mentorship project. And then this dude came at me, accusing me of trying to steal his girlfriend. Goodness. I was just explaining to her what the application process was, and he sends his gorillas after me. He probably can’t stand the idea of his girlfriend having <em>ambitions</em>.”</p>
  <p>Steve let his eyes wander around the crowded room for a second, wandering across an array of social elites and local underworld fauna alike.</p>
  <p>There they were. Six big, burly men, just as Tony had said. It would probably better to avoid a direct confrontation, especially in a venue like this.</p>
  <p>“Steve, you’re supposed to look at me, not them.”</p>
  <p>Steve turned his head back towards Tony and found him even closer than before, feeling his face start to burn in embarrassment.</p>
  <p>“Tony, I don’t think I can do this.”</p>
  <p>“Don’t worry, I will still treat you with respect afterwards,” Tony grinned.</p>
  <p>“You never treat me with respect.”</p>
  <p>“The audacity!” Tony gasped dramatically, but the theatricality of it was destroyed by the smile threatening to take over his face. “I am a very respectful employer.”</p>
  <p>That might be true for any employee that saw Tony in a purely professional setting, people who experienced him as CEO, as a leader in the R&amp;D lab, as an inventor and philanthropist. It wasn’t true for someone who had seen him angry after meetings that went wrong, exhausted after fixing the careless mistakes of others through a punishing schedule of overwork, dragging himself into the kitchen in the morning whenever he prioritised other things over his own physical wellness. He’d seen every side of Tony by now, knew the sharp tongue and vicious mind that hid behind the cordial smile that he directed towards the public. By virtue of always being beside Tony, he had seen every other side of him, all the sides that his other employees would never see.</p>
  <p>To say that Steve liked what he saw was an understatement.</p>
  <p>There was no way he could kiss Tony.</p>
  <p>“Are you worried that you’ll slobber all over me?” Tony asked, shaking Steve’s arms lightly. “Don’t worry, I won’t mind if you’re a terrible kisser.”</p>
  <p>“Tony, I really–”</p>
  <p>“Goddammit, Steve,” Tony cursed. “Do you <em>want</em> to take on six gorillas? Remember, you’re still supposed to protect me! You can’t just run away if you get your ass handed to you!”</p>
  <p>Fine. Okay. If Tony wanted to be that way.</p>
  <p>He leaned down the tiniest bit, and firmly planted his lips on Tony’s.</p>
  <p>At first it was awkward. They didn’t really fit together, and for a moment, he absolutely had no idea what he was doing, how he was supposed to proceed, he couldn’t remember how you were supposed to kiss a person… Then, Tony turned his head a little, and directed Steve’s hands towards the small of his back, and suddenly–</p>
  <p>Oh. Wow.</p>
  <p>Holy Shit.</p>
  <p>He drew back for a second, sucked in air with the desperation of a drowning person, and dove in again. Tony’s hands grasped at his biceps, and for a moment, Steve had the satisfying feeling that Tony was hanging on for dear life, before his mind blanked out and he couldn’t think about anything other than the sensation of <em>this</em> person in his arms.</p>
  <p>This one person.</p>
  <p>He forgot where they were, even.</p>
  <p>When they finally parted, they were both flushed, not quite daring to look at each other.</p>
  <p>Tony moved the tiniest bit back, turning his head to observe the crowd. Steve could just see the last gorilla shuffling out of the room.</p>
  <p>“Looks like we’ve successfully repelled them,” Tony observed, squeezing Steve’s arm in thanks.</p>
  <p>Steve realised they had yet to let go of each other. His hands were still pressed against the small of Tony’s back, the heat of his body bleeding through the jacket.</p>
  <p>Tony seemed to realise in the same moment. He turned back towards Steve.  </p>
  <p>They froze like that, looking at each other as if they were both a deer caught in the headlights of an oncoming car.</p>
  <p>“Hey,” Steve said, nonsensically, after an extended moment of silence.</p>
  <p>“Hey,” Tony replied with a small smile. “Thanks.”</p>
  <p>He squeezed Steve’s arms again, his smile growing a touch teasing. “You’ve officially fulfilled your duty as a bodyguard. Good boy.”</p>
  <p>“Tony–”</p>
  <p>“Nuh uh,” Tony said, finally letting go of Steve. “If you want to report me to HR or anything, please feel free to do so. I do have to go now, though. I think I need to rescue an ambitious young woman from the evil clutches of her soon-to-be ex-boyfriend. No decent man sends six henchmen after someone talks to his girlfriend for all of three minutes.”</p>
  <p>With that, he turned away and marched out of the room, not waiting for Steve’s reply.</p>
  <p>Steve could have said many things. For example, he could have said that no matter how decent the man, there were few who would not feel a flicker of worry when they saw Tony Stark, of all people, talk to their girlfriend. A man smarter, richer and more handsome than anybody else in the room. If it came down to it, they wouldn’t stand a sliver of a chance.</p>
  <p><em>Of course</em> they would send henchmen after him.</p>
  <p>Someone bumped into his side. When he looked, a tipsy young lady with a very generous décolleté and very gaudy selection of jewellery stood there, steadying herself on Steve’s arm.</p>
  <p>“That was, like, so hot,” she slurred, “You should go after him.”</p>
  <p>She swayed a little, waving the arm she wasn’t currently holding onto Steve with emphatically. “Guys like him aren’t exactly mass-produced.”</p>
  <p>“I know,” Steve acquiesced. “He’s pretty much one of a kind.”</p>
  <p>“Hehehe,” the woman chortled, before pushing him away. “Go get him, tiger.”</p>
  <p>“I will.”</p>
  <p>Not in that way, perhaps. But at the very least, he had to get Tony home tonight, safe from vengeful ex-boyfriends and other nuisances. And tomorrow, they would have breakfast, and maybe… maybe Tony would be willing to listen to him over coffee and some nice, fresh croissants.  </p>
  <p>Maybe.</p>
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